The Falling Cherry Blossoms
by NaOHydroxide
Summary: An exploration of what might've happened in Hoshido during the events of Conquest. Told from the perspective of an OC, and tries to expand on some of the less developed Hoshidan characters along the way as well.
1. Introduction

Dear Diary,  
These are the first words I am writing upon your pages. I write in the common tongue because if I am to be captured by the Nohrian army during the impending war - and by some miracle they do not execute me for sport - I will be able to use my writings here to confirm anything I say about myself.

I should probably introduce myself now. My name in my native tongue is Mizukuro, which translates to the common language as Blackwater. I have served in the honourable army of the kingdom of Hoshido for my entire adult life, having trained for it since childhood. My weapon of choice is the naginata, meaning my combat discipline is referred to as that of the Spear Fighter. Possibly Spear Master now, with all my training, but I digress.

Back when the late King Sumeragi sat on the throne of Shirasagi Castle, before his death ten years ago, I was one of his aids and retainers. The other was Yukimura, now mostly retired from active service in the role of chief strategist. I, for myself, elected to take command of a border post. My reasons were twofold - firstly, while my body was still capable of it, I wished to stand on the front lines defending my country; and secondly, so I could be in a prime position when war was declared to march into Nohr and, if I were able, to avenge my master in kind by slaying the archers who themselves slew him.

Yukimura shared my sentiments, and indeed wished to join me on that quest, but his body was no longer capable. His legs had been torn to pieces by some of the arrows that missed our master and king, and it took so long for us to find any users of the rod that it was impossible to repair them. We were told he would never walk on his own again. Some sky knights flew us home to Shirasagi, where Queen Mikoto offered us our current posts once our mourning period had concluded.

Yukimura had, during that same time, made himself a mechanical lion so it could ferry him around; and had even created it with a hidden yumi inside; which allowed it to fire shuriken and arrows at unsuspecting opponents while still moving as fast as the best Nohrian horses. I congratulated his efforts as any friend should, before leaving for my post at the Eternal Stairway.

We still write to each other about goings-on at our respective posts, though much of our correspondence even now focuses upon the great man and king we both served under; as well as the lost middle prince, Kamui, who I saw taken away by Nohr's ruler Garon as Yukimura and I fled the corpse of our master shortly after his death.


	2. Chapter 1

A glorious thing has happened: The lost prince Kamui has returned to Hoshido! Even now, he is off with the prince Ryoma in the northern mountains, saving his sisters from a horde of Faceless. There have been some slight problems, however. Chief among them: he cannot remember anything before his arrival and confinement in Nohr's northern fortresses, and believes his name to be 'Corrin', which must be a name the Nohrians changed gave him so we wouldn't try to take him back by force. However, I am sure his memories will return given sufficient time.

I have been summoned back to Shirasagi for Kamui's public presentation to the kingdom. I leave my deputy in charge of the Eternal Stairway post. I will write about any significant developments before my return.

* * *

Something terrible has happened. Kamui came to Hoshido carrying a sinister sword given to him by Garon, and during the ceremony a black-robed figure with translucent hands appeared from the watching crowd and made the sword explode. Queen Mikoto died shielding Kamui from fragments of the blade, and the middle prince's anger at this needless loss released the spirit of a feral dragon that had been sleeping in his body.

I do not know much of what happened shortly after, as Ryoma and I were fighting the translucent enemy for a long while, but I have been told that Kamui - with the help of the trainees Kaze and Rinkah, and the princess Azura - fought off some Nohrian soldiers that had appeared with the figure. I do know that after the battle, the prophesied Yato blade appeared from its shrine and flew to Kamui's hand, signifying our middle prince as the one destined to bring peace to the world.

I also know that princess Azura, whom Kohgan ninja had kidnapped from Nohr in retaliation for our loss of Kamui, was the one responsible for returning the dragon spirit in Kamui to dormancy; and that she gave him the Dragonstone we held in Shirasagi Castle, so that he could use its power without losing control.

Kamui and his siblings now march for the border field where the Nohrian army is gathering. I have been reassigned to a high ranking in the main army, and travel with them. Also with us is my dear old friend Yukimura, and the main body of Hoshido's army. In addition to all of this, all of the royals with retainers have brought said retainers along to the confrontation. I feel like something very important will occur during this battle.


	3. Chapter 2

It has become clear to me that Garon has brainwashed our treasured Kamui for his own fell ends. Why is this so? Because after he brought great calamity on the citadel of Shirasagi by delivering the accursed blade whose explosion flattened an entire street and killed dozens if not hundreds of innocent Hoshidan townsfolk, he took our sacred Yato and invaluable Dragonstone - and he sided with Nohr's army over that of his true home and family in Hoshido.

He personally forced large sections of our army to retreat, with those children of Garon he called his 'siblings' at his side. Ultimately, Yukimura and I were forced to confront Kamui - or Corrin as he calls himself - alongside his true siblings, in order to try to bring him back to our side. Prince Ryoma duelled their crown prince; a horse-riding warrior named Xander, who a blade that exuded darkness. A very scantily-clad wyvern-riding princess with purple hair - named Camilla - challenged Hinoka, and easily forced her to fly back home. Takumi engaged the second prince of Nohr, a magic-using rider named Leo; and the latter's magic ultimately overwhelmed him. Finally, Yukimura and I, alongside Sakura, challenged Kamui himself. Kamui was backed by a maid, Felicia, and the youngest Nohrian princess, a mounted staff user named Elise.

Yukimura and I took the early advantage, as my superior training and longer reach allowed me to easily keep him too far from me to strike with his blade; while Yukimura and his yumi-equipped transport kept his allies at bay with arrows and shuriken. We had worked on a similar combination for years under Sumeragi, while Yukimura could still walk and fire his own yumi, and it was now coming to perfect fruition before our very eyes. I shared a smile with my old friend as I brought Kamui to the floor with the long handle of my naginata.

It was at that very moment, however, that Kamui made use of the Dragonstone. I saw this as my cue to switch roles with Yukimura, but before I could charge his allies the younger Nohrian princess raised what looked like a staff, and the power that flowed from the staff froze my legs in place. All the other Hoshidan royals were fleeing, with Hinoka coming past our position; so Yukimura had her carry me on her pegasus while he carried Sakura on his mechanical lion.

Nohr may have won the day, thanks to Kamui's unexpected brainwashing, but no country of Garon's shall win a war with Hoshido for as long as I still live and breathe.


	4. Chapter 3

None of the royal family have handled Kamui's betrayal well. Ryoma trains day and night, both to hide his grief from his siblings and enable himself to bring Kamui home to us all. Hinoka and Sakura have spent most of each day crying, either by themselves or together. Most of Shirasagi only sees them when they come out to eat, though each of them have slowly returned to their own duties. As for Takumi...The younger prince has taken to violent fits of rage, shouting at anyone within earshot about betrayal and how he's going to personally kill everyone who has ever set foot in Nohr. Or something like that; nobody's been listening to him after the first few times.

In addition, Takumi's bursts of rage have become more frequent, and a rumour has begun circling which claims that he fell into the Bottomless Canyon shortly before his madness began. I believe he is assembling a small force with which to lead an initial charge into Nohrian territory, and that after consultation with Yukimura his target is the port town of Dia. Hinoka has also begun resuming her own training, her aim being to fortify Nestra's Sevenfold Sanctuary with her own troops so that Kamui cannot receive the Rainbow Sage's power. She tells me she is doing this in an attempt to prevent Kamui from ever reaching Ryoma's levels of skill and might, so that the latter can more easily take the former home by force.

Ryoma himself plans to raid Nohr's medicine store in Palace Macarath, and withhold access to the medicine until any Nohrians who attempt to retrieve it will surrender Kamui to him. Sakura is studying the late Queen Mikoto's barrier spell, which makes any Nohrian soldiers lose the will to fight upon crossing it; in the hope of recreating it herself. I, for myself, am planning to lead an advance force to Fort Dragonfall, where I will attempt to exchange Azura for Kamui.

Garon likely knows my name and likeness, so in order to prevent the entire Nohrian army from attacking us at once, we will put an alternative soldier in a figurehead command position; while I disguise myself and take the role of a common soldier, under the fake name of Shinonome. The figurehead commander himself, whose real name is Yuri, will also go by a fake name: Haitaka. He spent some time protecting our interests in Cyrkensia, during which time he learnt some techniques from watching Nohr's soldiers there; which allow him to bolster the will to live of any soldier near him just by calling out in a certain manner, in addition to allowing him to counter an opponent's blows with much more force than one would otherwise expect.

Yukimura has been performing admirably in co-ordinating all these different efforts, justifying many times over Mikoto's decision to appoint him strategist. He also tells me that his spies last traced Kamui as having just set out towards the Ice Tribe's territory, in order to quell a rebellion there. If he survives, we shall soon after see if our efforts to regain our lost prince are futile.


	5. Chapter 4

We have arrived in Fort Dragonfall. It is a very secure structure, so overcoming the Nohrian forces within was no easy feat. However, we have done it. At the moment, our men are resting in the quarters at the fort's rear, which also serves as a treasury. We did not bring any ninja along with us, as all the ninja available went with Prince Ryoma to Macarath. If we had, I believe the treasures here would have served our purposes admirably. We are all very well equipped, however; Yuri (aka Haitaka) himself being issued a very rare throwing naginata that does not impede its user's speed any more than any other steel weapon. If the fort shall fall I have been instructed to bring it to Hinoka - if, of course, I am not also killed. Yukimura has informed me that his spies claim Kamui's forces have just completed their mission to suppress the Ice Tribe rebellion, and that his next destination is expected to be Fort Dragonfall itself. One can only hope we are not completely overrun.

* * *

A/N: Welp, that took a while...Had to take a little break from this story for school and other issues, then writer's block hit like a train because CQ8 offers nothing for this story (RPGs with a slow start, where have we seen this before). But I'm back in business, so this story is going to continue. Hopefully.


End file.
